Fire protection facilities for terminals, pipelines Std-

Chemical engineering transactions, 2016

A look on loss statistics of reportable incidents reveals that fire is the most important cause of major losses in the chemical industry. Therefore it pays off to think about how advanced fire precautions may help to minimize the risk of such damages. This is the topic of the ProcessNet working group “Fire Protection in the Chemical Industry”. Experts from different chemical companies, consultant agencies, insurers and universities, who may contribute to the subject of fire precautions, cooperate and exchange experiences. It aims to establish a still more efficient risk fire management at chemical plants. Important working areas are: knowledge transfer between process safety and fire protection, evaluation and assessing the application of new technologies and learning from experiences. One risk management methodology for the prevention of fire incidents describing protection measures in dependency of combustible components and of financial and social interests is described.

Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Several years I drafted the newsletter below and sent it to over 300 of you to help you understand one of the key fire prevention issues we all face when designing and installing new tank batteries, proper grounding. Since then, a few of you have reported back that paying attention to proper grounding and related lightning protection has worked well, saving your facilities from fire and destruction. This, of course, is very good news. Offsetting this, however, some of you have reported that even though you have spent thousands on grounding and lightning protection with professional firms, you have still lost facilities to lightning and static discharge fires like the one pictured here. As I thought about this in broader terms I realized that I need to share more about the causes of facility fires. This white paper addresses a broader focus on fire prevention … or to paraphrase the famous Paul Harvey, "The Rest of the Story". THE FIRE TRIANGLE We are all familiar with the fire triangle. We know that it takes all three sides of the triangle to start and propagate a fire, and that if we remove one of the legs of the triangle we cannot have a fire. This is basic fire knowledge to us all. Yet, as basic as it appears, it is often overlooked when we design and construct oilfield facilities. I believe that if we truly understood the "Fire Triangle", and the chemistry and physics of fire, we could do a much better job of avoiding the circumstances that contribute to so many oilfield fires today. Therefore, the purpose of this white paper is to broaden our understanding of the fire triangle as it relates to facilities designs and installations. Let's begin with the subject of natural gas, since this gas often exists in a vapor layer above the liquids in the storage tanks in any oilfield facility. For natural gas to ignite and burn it must be in an environment where all three legs of the fire triangle can be satisfied … but there is more! All hydrocarbons can ignite and burn, but ONLY if the mixture of hydrocarbon and air is in the right proportion. For methane (pure natural gas) the mixture must be between 5% and 15% in air. We call this the "flammability limits" of methane. If we Google "Flammability Limits" we find that it is defined as the points where …"Above the upper flammable limit (UFL) the mixture of the hydrocarbon substance and air is too rich in fuel (deficient in oxygen) to burn. This is sometimes called the upper explosive limit (UEL). Below the lower flammable limit

five or ten pound container of Class-D extinguishing agent as a precaution. Pure metals such as potassium and sodium react violently (even explosively) with water and some other chemicals, and must be handled with care. Generally these metals are stored in sealed containers in a non-reactive liquid to prevent decay (surface oxidation) from contact with moisture in the air. WHEN NOT TO FIGHT A FIRE? Never fight a fire: ▪ If the fire is spreading beyond the spot where it started ▪ If you can't fight the fire with your back to an escape exit ▪ If the fire can block your only escape ▪ If you don't have adequate fire-fighting equipment In any of these situations, DON'T FIGHT THE FIRE YOURSELF. CALL FOR HELP. HOW TO EXTINGUISH SMALL FIRES Class A-Extinguish ordinary combustibles by cooling the material below its ignition temperature and soaking the fibres to prevent re-ignition. Use pressurized water, foam or multipurpose (ABC-rated) dry chemical extinguishers. DO NOT USE carbon dioxide or ordinary (BC-rated) dry chemical extinguishers on Class A fires. Class B-Extinguish flammable liquids, greases or gases by removing the oxygen, preventing the vapours from reaching the ignition source or inhibiting the chemical chain reaction. Foam, carbon dioxide, ordinary (BC-rated) dry chemical, multipurpose dry chemical may be used to fight Class B fires. Class C-Extinguish energized electrical equipment by using an extinguishing agent that is not capable of conducting electrical currents. Carbon dioxide, ordinary (BC-rated) dry chemical, multipurpose dry chemical fire extinguishers may be used to fight Class C fires. DO NOT USE water extinguishers on energized electrical equipment.

From the inception of human civilization, the role of fire is very significant and still in the modernized living its importance has not been reduced. As a source of energy, fire has various uses in our everyday living. Fire, if not manageable, can be disastrous for human settlements. Urban settlements of the world are more vulnerable to fire hazard due to the involvement of huge population in economic activities, industrial and other activities. Urban fire incidence is alarmingly increasing all over Bangladesh particularly in larger urban centers. Due to rapid unplanned urbanization and the absence of adequate safety measures in the city system, All Cities are seriously facing this hazard at present.